Desires of the Crown

20 - Undisclosed Secerts

          Demetri

I leaned up against the wooden door and took a deep breath. The look of her terrified face, her wide eyes, her plump lips slightly parted and the ghostly white pale cheeks that made the mud in her hair more prominent.

I walked her to the campsite. I chased her when she ran. I pushed her into that tent. I listened to her scream and did nothing. I took the lamb to the slaughter.

Why was it bothering me so much? I had done it before. I have killed, watched others be killed but yet, when I think of Little Miss and Jonathan slitting her throat... I gulped. I couldn't do it.

Walking down the corridor, I pushed all of the thoughts from my mind and took a few deep breaths.

"I should have just let you drown!" I slowed at the shouted words coming from the main hall. Frowning, I quickly ducked into the shadows and leaned myself up against the wall.

Silently listening and waiting for the reply.

"You couldn't live with yourself." Another voice counted.

I immediately recognized the bickering of Jonathan and Gabriel - It has clearly intensified since I left with Little Miss only a few minutes ago.

"Have you met me?!" Jonathan's temper was reaching its end. It seemed as if his so-called 'friend' was once again causing more trouble than he was worth. "Someone get me a bucket and I'll correct my mistake!" He called out to no one in particular.

They had met when they were young as most privilege Lords and royal children do. I knew Jonathan had saved Gabriel's life a number of times - especially since the weakling couldn't hold his own in battle. But, I knew he had done something to make Jonathan respect him - I just didn't know what.

"You're just mad because I tried to take another girl away from you."

"And how is that other girl? Maybe you should venture to the convent to visit her." My King replied with an edge to his voice.

"Maybe I will." Gabriel snapped back.

"You might find her a little missing. Maybe even a little headless by now depending on her behaviour."

I closed my eyes hearing his words.

"You didn't?" Gabriel seemed shocked, displeased and above anything else: concerned.

"I did." Jonathan responded without an inch of remorse. "If you don't kill the seed before it becomes a weed then you end up with a garden full of weeds."

"She wasn't going to say anything, she was in a bloody convent!" Gabriel raised his voice.

"With gossiping women!"

"You're paranoid."

I peeked my head around the corner to get a look at the situation. The rest of the room was empty and the two were standing and staring furiously at one another.

"You can never be paranoid, only prepared. I'm not listening to this anymore." Jonathan shrugged off Gabriel and started off in my direction.

"Don't walk away - " Gabriel grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks.

Jonathan's immediate reaction was to grab hold of Gabriel's shirt and push him into the wall. "Don't touch me. I built you up and I can take it all away just as fast Gabriel. Remember that."

Gabriel's hand only tightened. "Remember that I can drag you and your family down with me."

"My family." Jonathan replied. A simple two words that hung in the air for a long moment. Two words that seemed to be filled with a lot more than their simple meaning.

The words seemed to have a heavy affect on Gabriel. His hand dropped to his sides as his gaze dropped, almost in shame.

Jonathan leaned forward. "We may share blood, but you are not my brother. The quicker you accept that, the better off we will both be."

John took a few more steps towards the corridor.

"Then why?" Gabriel's words halted Jonathan's stride. "Why didn't you let them drown me, it wouldn't have been the first time you stood idly by."

Jonathan's body tensed, his jaw setting firmly and his fists balled at his sides. His eyes closed briefly as he inhaled deeply.

The cold silence was daunting.

Jonathan didn't bother to turn around. He let go of his deep breath and stretched out his hands as he stormed off into the darkness of the corridor.

I rested against the wall and counted to ten. I didn't want to think about what their words meant. I knew I was as good as dead if they knew I had over heard that conversation, or more precisely, the un-uttered topic of conversation that no one ever dared to say out loud.

I turned around to walk back up the corridor when my lower stomach collided with an illy-placed table and row of candles. I groaned as the candles fell - their holders creating an extremely loud clutter on the stone floor.

"Shit." I cursed and quickly tried to fall back into the shadows.

A hand shot out and gripped my shirt, forcing me forward. I looked straight ahead a little stun to see a pair of blue eyes.

"Gabriel." I uttered as I let out a breath. I had panicked for a moment, thinking it was Jonathan.

Gabriel smiled as his fist - holding the scruff of my shirt - turned, making it tighter around my neck.

"Shadow knights, always lurking in places they shouldn't be." He shook his head, disapprovingly. "What were you doing?"

There was a strange look in his eyes, something I wasn't accustomed to seeing in his normal bright eyes. "I was headed out to check on the horses."

"Was?" He raised an eyebrow at me. "You mean before you stopped to ease drop."

"I mean before you grabbed me." moved my hands to hold his wrist as his grasp only tightened making it difficult to breath.

"How much did you hear?" He pressed.

"Hear what?" I answered a little too quickly.

"For a thief, you are a very poor liar Demetri."

"For a Lord, you are a little paranoid."

"Someone once told me; You can never be paranoid, only prepared." He quoted the words Jonathan had spoken only moments ago.

"Sounds like wise advice."

"It is."

My eyes looked down as Gabriel's other hand began to move towards a dagger in his belt.

"The King will be expecting me." I tried to move Gabriel's hands from my shirt.

"I thought you said you were going to tend to the horses?"

I gulped. Gabriel wasn't fooled and he knew that I had heard everything that was spoken between the two.

Gabriel moved too quickly for me to react. His hand grasped his dagger and brought it up to my face where he hit me hard with the hilt of the dagger, just at the side of my head.

My vision went black briefly from the impact as the rest of my world spun. Gabriel's hand let go, letting me fall to the fall.

Gabriel bent down to my level as I lied in heap on the floor. "Jonathan doesn't hear about this, understood."

"It seems you have a lot of secrets you don't want the King to know about." I rubbed my head. First about a princess, then my sister, and now this.

Gabriel smiled. "And it seems you will benefit from everyone of them."

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Super Quick update. This was all I could manage. Sorry.

My life has gotten crazy and honestly I can't write. I Hope you can stay with me while I sort my shit out.

-Kim.